Where do we find the light? The inspiration? That spark of genius, even if only for a fraction of a moment? In In Praise of Disorganization, Wynne and I discussed a brilliant (pun intended 🙃) source of such wonder: the collision of different worlds! Think about it, fire materializes when 3 very different components come … More Where Do We Find It?
As a pastor’s kid, I’ve seen my share of Candlelight Services. Perhaps you’ve been to one too – they usually start at 11pm on Christmas Eve. At the very end, as it closes in on midnight, everyone gets a candle. The flame from the candle on the altar is passed around until the candles are … More Candlelight Aglow
I turned the corner and the dark night erupted into a twinkling light show, full of bright red and greens. There were snowflakes, snowmen smiling from cheek-to-cheek, reindeer in mid-flight, and a jolly old St. Nick. There was, of course, a manger scene too. On Thanksgiving night, we drove past two homes where the owners every … More Let it shine!
I’ve been sharing a lot lately about hitting a wall creatively, because I’m in one of those uncomfortable places that all creative people reach at some point. I’ve actually reached this point many, many times in my creative career. This experience feels similar to wandering through desolate prairie lands (not that I’ve ever wandered through desolate prairie lands, but I can imagine) and finally reaching a lonely outpost, only to find that this outpost offers no real direction. At some point, one just has to decide whether to go back from whence they came, or pick a direction and move forward without any clear answers. As I’ve been dancing in front of this creative wall for several months now, I’ve been coming up with all kinds of ways to do things differently this time, because my default has always been to pack up shop, jump ship, and quit my practice, only to return again after several months of tortured guilt, uncertainty, and restlessness. But no, not this time. This time, I’m going to pick a direction and see what happens. I believe only good can come from this. But wow, it’s tough, and these bleak Lonesome Dove vibes are no joke! … More When In Doubt, Do What You Know
When my daughter was in high school, I would look over the essays that she submitted to her English class or for college admission applications. I would get out my red pen, it was really the “Track Changes” Tool within Microsoft Word, and highlight where I thought she should cut, use tighter language, or rephrase … More Role reversal: Learning from my kids
When we brought our puppy home in early August, the weather was sunny, with 14 hour days and warm nights. The cushions were out on the front porch furniture and the doors to come inside were open 80% of the time. And our cat refused to meet the new puppy. She preferred to stay outside … More We’ll Call it Courage Anyway
I know I have the upper hand here when I say “everything is beautiful.” I’m an artist, and as a visual creator, we can’t help but take in, absorb, and process the world through our eyes first. Everything goes through our eyes, even before it hits our brains and our hearts, our senses and our guts. I suppose that’s true for everyone, so maybe I should say things differently. Artists notice more with our eyes, take in more with our eyes, and honor what we see a lot more than most. And I do believe that artists are the only people who have an excuse to be called superficial. Because we honestly can’t help it. However, I do think viewing the world through dialed-up eyesight can be learned and cultivated, if you’re interested in giving it a try. … More Everything Is Beautiful
I love musing about the symbolism of rain and raindrops. I wrote about my sweet sister’s love of the B.J. Thomas song, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” a while back. Lisa is one of the most courageous humans I know as she navigates complicated memories of love and loss – mixed-up recollections from her head … More Inspired by Raindrops
I looked at the list again. On the plus side, I saw the names of a few friends who were going to be in my fifth-grade class with me. I was happy about that, but the negative side of the scale stood out in big bold face letters to me, and it spelled out the … More Tough as nails
When I was a young kid, I was small for my age. We’d line up at the start of the year, smallest to the tallest, and I would always be one of the shortest boys in my class. I wasn’t the smartest either, I had to work hard for my grades. Every ‘A’ felt like … More If there were 100 people in the world?
The Heart of the Matter 